The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising the use of dronedarone (Multaq) for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) – a disturbance of the heart’s rhythm. In its final draft guidance, NICE has reaffirmed the decision in its previous draft to recommend the limited use of the drug as a second-line treatment in people with additional cardiovascular risk factors whose AF has not been controlled by first-line therapy.

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Obstructive sleep apnea is a frequent comorbidity in patients suffering from atrial fibrillation, and polysomnography should be used to diagnose it. According to a research presented at SLEEP 2010: Associated Professional Sleep Societies 24th Annual Meeting, portable diagnostic methods underestimate the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea in these patients.
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A new algorithm can now detect atrial fibrillation with a 95 accuracy. This is a huge improvement over previous methods. Atrial fibrillation, which affects about three million Americans, is an independent risk factor for death and a major cause of ischemic stroke, in which blood flow is reduced to part of the brain. Atrial Fibrillation can be treated, but it is notoriously difficult to detect. The new algorithm was developed by Ki H. Chon, PhD, head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in partnership with Snehraj Merchant of The ScottCare Corporation.

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Biosense Webster, Inc. has announced that FDA has cleared for marketing the CARTO® 3 System, the most advanced three-dimensional imaging technology for use by electrophysiologists in treating cardiac arrhythmias, commonly referred to as irregular heart rhythms. Atrial Fibrillation, or AFib as it`s more commonly known, is the most prevalent cardiac arrhythmia affecting between 2.3 to 5.6 million adults in the country and is the leading cause of stroke among people 65 years and older.

St. Jude Medical, Inc. has received CE Marking for its implantable cardiac monitor (ICM), SJM Confirm™. The most compact ICM in the market (equal to the size of a thumb drive) is designed for the detection of atrial fibrillation and other abnormalities in heart rhythms. The device is implanted subcutaneously, just under the skin near the upper part of the chest. It can also be implanted, under local anesthesia, in an outpatient application. The system’s sensing algorithm helps in detecting small, wide-ranging signals in a better way.